Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez will face a recall election this Fall, as the Orange County Registrar of Voters has certified the recall petition has enough valid voter signatures to force an election in the fall.
The OC ROV notified the Santa Ana City Clerk yesterday that the recall has qualified for the ballot. 5,274 valid signatures were necessary to qualify the recall and recall proponents turned in 6,617 signatures. The ROV determined at least 5,285 were valid (registrar typically count until the valid signature threshold is reached) meaning proponents had a validity rate of at least 80%.
According to state law, the Santa Ana City Council must be notified at its next regularly scheduled meeting, at which time the council can set a date for the election. Whether the “next regularly scheduled meeting” is tonight’s council meeting or August 1, is undetermined at publication time.
The election must take place not less than 88 days and no more than 125 days after the council orders the recall election.
The recall drive was funded by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association.
The recall notice against Lopez, who represents Ward 3, cited a number of reasons for seeking her removal, including her opposition to cracking down on illegal street racing, support for rent control, a tax on unoccupied rental properties, increasing fees on homebuilding, and supporting cutting the police department budget by $1 million and weakening the department’s gang enforcement efforts.
READ: Santa Ana Councilwoman Jessie Lopez’ “Vacancy Tax” Is A Bad Idea
It also cited Lopez refusal last year to leave the house where she was renting a room, as reported by the OC Independent. The owner had sold the home and gave Lopez two-months notice to move out. Lopez refused, and the exasperated homeowner appealed to the city for help in getting the councilmember to move out of his house, which she eventually did.
Lopez subsequently moved into the home of Albert Castillo, who leads the left-wing advocacy group Chicanos Unidos.
Lopez has rarely reported earning any income on her mandatory financial disclosures, and it is unclear whether or not she has a job.
Santa Ana City Councilmember Thai Phan is also the target of a recall, although its progress is uncertain.
Lopez and her political allies – primarily left-wing advocacy groups and major cannabis business – have tried to portray the recall as a grudge by the SAPOA that wants her ousted because she is a woman and Hispanic.
READ: Santa Ana: Councilmembers Lopez, Phan Play Gender, Race Cards In Attacking Recall Campaign
Lopez continued those attacks in a statement she tweeted out this morning:
Due to a change in state law that took effect this year, the recall election will not include a “replacement” ballot. Until now, a recall election posed two questions to voters: 1) Shall so-and-so be recalled? 2) If so, who shall replace so-and-so? If a majority of voters supported the recall, then the top vote getter on the replacement ballot took office.
Now there will simply be a yes-or-no recall question. In the wake of the successful Josh Newman and unsuccessful Gavin Newsom recalls and other recall attempts, the state legislature has passed laws designed to protect incumbents. Replacement ballot full of candidates urging their supporters to the polls tend to boost the “yes” vote in a recall election.
If Lopez is recalled, the council would have the opportunity to appoint a replacement, or failing that, schedule a special election.
Lopez was elected with 34% of the vote in November 2020 in Ward 3, a comparatively conservative district in north Santa Ana. Several observers feel the 30-year old’s left-wing politics are out of step with the majority of her constituents.
There are 26,545 registered voters in Ward 3, which includes the Floral Park neighborhood. The recall election will likely be a low-turnout affair, and place a premium on each sides ability to get their supporters to cast ballots (including ballot harvesting).
